Taking Care Of Your Kids When You Feel Like Crap

I've had a fireball in my throat for the last 3 days.  Both my kids had friends over for play dates last night (that means 2 6 year olds and 2 4 year olds for dinner).  My husband had dinner plans.  OMG.  How was I going to do it?  I called my husband during the day and with subtlety asked whether he planned to come home before going out... normally he doesn't make it home from his office until about 6:30pm (the end of the play date). 

As I pull into my driveway with the 2 4 year olds and look up at my house, the 2 6 year olds are climbing on the windowsill of my bedroom window like monkeys.  I think my eyes started to burn as I choked with dismay.  About 10 minutes after getting in and the kids are running around like crazy creatures, I hear the front door open and in walks my husband - at 5pm!  I've never been so happy to see him!  He was fantastic - he got all 4 kids downstairs playing and gave me some room to breathe.  That's love!

It's hard enough as it is to juggle all the competing priorities of the working mom, but add in getting sick and you are dealt a real blow.  And with young kids, they always seem to be more needy when you are unable to give.  Those mommy demands just start ringing in your head.  I can't help feel like I'm failing them when I can't (or don't want) to comply - I know they sort of get the concept of me getting sick, but I don't think they get it enough to give me a break.  I sometimes wonder if they get that I am an actual human being and not just mommy.  Last night by the time my son's friend was gone, it was 7pm.  And it was bath night.  When I told them mommy wasn't up to it and we would change bath night to tonight, they actually argued saying they wanted the bath!  And most nights when it's bath time I have to chase them around to get them in. 

Unlike my previous posts, I don't really have any solutions to today's topic.  I just feel like crap (going to the doctor later this morning) and thought  I would vent a little bit.  Because other than asking for help from, there is nothing you can really do in this situation but wait it out.  So unless you have any tips for me, I'm signing off... a short and no so sweet post for this morning.